


Not just a daughter

by attachiantenephilim



Series: My dam Half-Blood works [8]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Good Dad Ares, He saves her
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:54:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23749483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/attachiantenephilim/pseuds/attachiantenephilim
Summary: Clarisse had been through the Sea of Monsters, the Labyrinth. She had witnessed her boyfriend going insane, her best friend dying. Yet, this monster ripping her clothes off was topping everything so far.
Relationships: Ares & Clarisse La Rue, Clarisse La Rue/Chris Rodriguez, Miranda Gardiner/Sherman Yang
Series: My dam Half-Blood works [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1220282
Comments: 7
Kudos: 54





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> This two-shot idea came up from the fact that I've always been bothered of how Ares is depicted as such a bad father in the books, when in the real Greek myths, he saved his daughter Alcippe from a son of Poseidon who tried to rape her. I'm sure he'd do the same with Clarisse; so there you go, enjoy!  
> As usual, English is not my mother tongue. Sorry for eventual errors. Of course, the universe belongs to Rick Riordan.

Why they had entrusted her with this stupid quest, Clarisse did not know. But she was already bored, and she hated wasting her time. Other children of Athena had wanted to go in her place though. The perfect opportunity to prove their worth and to show off in front of their mommy dear by finding her helmet… Instead, Chiron offered her the chance to go just so she didn’t come back this summer from college for nothing.

Yeah, all crap. She was the Drakon Slayer, she had no time for trivial quests that any demigod could accomplish. She would have rather stayed at camp to train with her siblings till Chris joins her after his exams.

‘Whatever. You don’t choose em all’ she mutters in her breath as she kept walking. By logic, if she hadn’t made a mistake in her tracks, she was currently in the middle of a river valley in Pennsylvania where Athena’s helmet was last seen. It was only now that she noticed that the sky had become hazy and a quick glance at her watch signalled that it was six pm.

“Better call it a night.” She sighed, her voice reasoning in the peaceful forest she had reached.

_“Damn Apollo, curse on Athena…”_

Or not that peaceful. Swiping back on her feet, she grabbed her spear, ready to face anything that comes her way. She kept hearing this voice insulting the gods, switching in ancient Greek.

 _“Damn on Poseidon…”_ she heard again.

The voice, which Clarisse recognized as male, came from a darker corner of the forest where she had landed. However, she saw a bright glow in the darkness, a metallic object... Celestial bronze. Athena's helmet.

‘Got it’ she thought.

Suddenly, a pair of blue eyes met hers and she barely had time to wield her spear. The person emerged from his shadowy corner and the spear collided with her opponent's armour. _‘Armor? Greek armor?’_

“D-demigods! All naughts-“

“I’d watch my mouth if I were you!” she growled, giving a new stroke, spearheading forward.

“Traitors! All naughts those demigods!” The man barked, trying to push Clarisse’s spear wooden section with his bare hands.

No sword or any weapon on him but still strong, Clarisse could note. She backed down for a minute and took the time to give him a closer look. He was small, smaller than her. He did wear Greek armour, but one like she'd never seen before. Very old with an emblem, probably from some Greek civilization too ancient to be still standing nowadays. The man had brown, almost black hair and was all dishevelled. He looked insane, worse than Chris when she got him out of the Labyrinth.

“A demigod again!” He grunted through his teeth; his voice raspy like he hadn’t talked for centuries.

“You give me that helmet right now and maybe I won’t kill you.”

A vicious, almost sickly-looking grin suddenly appeared on the man's face and sent a shiver down Clarisse's spine as he scanned her from top to bottom.

“A girl, huh?”

At that, Clarisse stiffens, a growl slipping from her mouth. If he thought he was going to get the upper hand on her because of that, he was wrong. She ran back towards him, her spear forward. If she could only reach a patch of skin that wasn't protected by his armour-

How she had landed on the ground, she couldn't tell, it had been so fast. _He_ was fast. He tore his spear from her, and Clarisse tried to strangle him, but her strength was not comparable and he easily removed her hands.

“You’re a tough one aren’t ya? More than Cassandra but that’ll do.” He whispered and Clarisse was sure she was petrified now.

She was trying, had searched every nook and cranny of her memory to guess who he was, trying to remember classes at camp.

 _Ajax the Lesser_. Impossible… She had heard about those long-dead warriors punished by the gods and brought back to life to accomplish their eternal punishment just like Tantalus… But they were always told at camp how rare it was to stumble upon one of them during a regular quest…

She was far from dumb; she knew what had caused Ajax’s downfall in the myths. He was punished for… Cassandra… What he _did_ to her-

‘ _No_ ’ Clarisse told herself, her breath cut short.

“No!” she screamed.

She tried to fight back, but her fall on the ground had caused a blow to her head that was already causing her to sink little by little as Ajax laid on top of her. She managed to hit him in the face several times, but it only seemed to make him more determinate.

“Let go… You’ll enjoy it, I swear…” he whispered in her ear and a shiver of disgust ran through her whole body.

Never in all her life had Clarisse ever been so afraid, never had she ever thought about the possibility of someone attacking her body in _this_ way. She was strong, she has always been, but he’d literally fought the Trojan War, how could she possibly top such strength?

With a more than astonishing speed, he was able to remove his armour, the thud of metal reasoning in the forest as it fell to the ground. And a scream escaped from Clarisse's mouth when he tore off some of her orange camp tee-shirt, exposing her collarbone and a large part of her bra.

“No! NO! P-Please-“

She tried everything once again; hitting, scratching, and even came to the point of addressing a prayer to her father, even though he might take her for a lowly weakling not able to defend herself. But nothing worked. Eventually Ajax grabbed her wrists and held them over her head to stop her struggling. And Clarisse knew there was nothing more she could do.

“Please…” she pleaded one last time, her voice cracking.

She was fully sobbing now, her pride and bravery gone she didn’t know where.

“Oh, you’re saying please now baby girl? I’m the one who’s about to please you, don’t worry…”

His bad breath was intoxicating her, the concussion that was getting to her head not helping at all. Her eyes flickered, ready to close at any moment, but she could feel his hands caressing her bare ribs and one of his hands unbuttoning her cargo pants.

But nothing else came. Instead Clarisse felt the man's body being blasted away from hers.

Hearing an exclamation of surprise, she re-opened her eyes and straightened herself up on the stony ground, finally free to move. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw Ajax trapped between a tree and the imposing body of another man, dressed in a leather jacket, his hair closely shaved. He was holding a knife to Ajax's throat.

Ares.

Clarisse had already seen her father angry before sometimes, at her. But the fury that was distorting his face, his eyes more on fire than ever, at this very moment, was something his daughter herself had never witnessed before and that any living man would never want to face.

“L-Lord Ares? What a honou-“

“You touched her?” he simply asked, even tough growled would be the appropriate word. Ajax the Lesser was definitely less than courageous right now. Clarisse, still

trying to take a grasp of what was happening so fast in front of her eyes, would surely have been greatly pleased with the look of horror and dismay on Ajax's face.

“I, my lord, I-“

“DID YOU TOUCH MY DAUGHTER?!”

“She? H-her? I, my lord I didn’t know she was your-“

Ajax the Lesser never finished his sentence as Ares slit not his throat, but his man parts so violently that even Clarisse had to look away. She only heard the man’s howls of pain and cries for mercy and again, she couldn’t enjoy it. She could feel her body giving her up, and the tiredness and the ache that was pounding through her skull were becoming too much. The last thing she heard when she felt herself sinking, was her father who sounded as if he was doing a Greek incantation:

_“I, the God of War, condemn you to an eternity in the worst part of the fields of punishment, Hades shall hear me, for having laid your dirty mitts on one of my soldiers.”_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When Clarisse woke up, she instantly knew she was inside the Intrepid. First of all because this much bigger and comfier bed definitely couldn’t be her tiny bunk at camp, and second because the full arsenal of edged weapons against the wall facing her bed, is what was to be expected in the temple of the god of war. Also, she was out of her jeans and tored tee shirt and now wearing her most comfortable pair of sweats and leggings.

Which could also mean one thing: her father had brought her here and seen her fall apart in front of an enemy.

“Stupid, stupid, fuck you’re so stupid!” she scolded herself, nesting her head in her lap.

She had shown weakness and Ares probably thought she was a disgrace now. Damn, he even changed her out of her clothes. Clarisse had never felt that embarrassed of her life and was sure her father was probably going to disinherit her-

“I don’t give a dumbfuck about the ancient laws, Hephaestus! I HAD to intervene!”

She almost jumped out of the bed when her father roared in what seemed to be a conversation between him and the god of forges and fire. A frown appeared on her face; they were talking about… her?

“Really? Well tell our father that she’ll stay here as long as she needs to and that’s final!”

The conversation seemed to have ended there and rendered Clarisse speechless. Ares… defended her. He was actually standing up to Zeus himself for her to recover here after her assault. It could have been expected from any ordinary father but when you were a daughter of Ares, it was… Strange. Unusual. For him to _care_.

At some point, she decided to get out of the bed, hyperactivity kicking in, and put her sneakers back on which were next to the bed. On leaving the room, she found herself in a hallway she had never seen before, despite the other times she had been to the temple since her driving test.

This hallway in particular was probably, she guessed, the walls of grace. On the two narrow walls of the corridor were framed war treasures and antiquities of all kinds. Cycnus’ shield recovered after his battle with Heracles, mosaics depicting Diomedes of Thrace with his horses, ancient weapons and armours of Deimos and Phobos (‘those assholes’ Clarisse thought), even some things from his recent demigod sons. Only his sons. His biggest pride and how they used to be heroes.

Clarisse was about to turn around when she saw a corner darker than the rest of the hallway, as if it was less important than all those reminders of those cruel men that were her own brothers. She frowned as she found other objects, vases and portraits displayed on a block of marble typical of Greek architecture. These objects, although less prominently exhibited than others, showed a certain delicacy.

One of the vases depicted Hippolyta leading the Amazons with courage. A copy of Harmony's curse necklace... Clarisse's footsteps suddenly stopped, so much that she almost hit the beautifully carved block of marble. She had frozen, a shiver going through her body, in front of a portrait of a young girl. Clarisse knew who she was. Alcippe.

A princess, a young daughter of Ares with no particular courage nor fighting ability. Just a nice girl. Who happened to be assaulted by a son of Poseidon that Ares killed to avenge her.

“You’re awake, I see.” A gruffy voice right behind her suddenly said.

As if she wasn't humiliated enough already, Clarisse nearly jumped up in the air, not having noticed her father coming up from behind her and expected to be reprimanded for her poor reflexes, but he didn't do anything about it. Instead, Ares just looked at her emotionlessly, waiting for an answer.

“I, yes,” she finally responded. “How long did I sleep?”

“A day. You needed rest.”

“I… I think I’m fine now. I should probably get back to camp and inform Chiron. I apologize for... having failed this quest.” She said respectfully, eyes down on the ground.

The young demigod waited for the scruffy laugh not in the slightest surprised of her failure, the comments tinged with disappointment… But it never came. However, she jumped again when he caught her by the shoulders, forcing her gaze to cross his and that’s the moment she realized her father wasn’t wearing sunglasses for once; his fire eyes were actually pretty dim and calm, almost like actual eyes.

“You listen to me kiddo. What this… son of a bitch has done to you (he spat those words), it’s not your fault you hear me?”

She bowed her head. “But Father, I, he, I let him overpower me and-“

“Doesn’t matter!” Ares interrupted and rage could be perceived in his voice. “No daughter of mine should be treated this way. This scum tried to undermine you as a _woman_ , because he couldn’t undermine you as a soldier. ‘Cause you were superior to him! You… You were stronger than this prick, got it?”

The idea that she was probably dreaming about her father saying all this to her, briefly occurred to her. And Clarisse didn't know why, but she wanted to cry. She wasn't dead, but she felt as if a part of her had been taken when that monster had tried to-

Yeah. But here her father was, telling her all the things she had always wanted to hear from him, and she felt so empty on the inside.

At some point, she swallowed back her tears, her pride taking over, and she nodded vigorously. “Got it.”

Ares released his grip from her shoulders and announced that he was going to take her back to the camp. She acquiesced and was about to go back to the room to get her things. Before that, she couldn't help but take one last look at the wall dedicated to her sisters. Ares noticed this too.

“Clarisse. Wait a sec.”

His daughter stopped in the middle of the hallway and faced him again.

“Look, uh…” he seemed nervous, which was unusual for an overly confident god like Ares. “I know I’ve never been the perfect father. But if anything, it’s because I never want the past to repeat itself. With my daughters.”

“You mean, with Hippolyta and…”

Ares nodded, finishing her sentence. “and Alcippe, yes. They were strong, fierce. But then they got hurt or died by a man’s hand and so did many of my daughters. I thought that, you know, maybe I needed to be harder with them.”

Clarisse would have nodded but she didn’t know what to respond, honestly. That explains so much. How harsh he’s always been with her, with her sisters, expecting so much more from them and praising her brothers as the real children of Ares.

“But I changed my mind about that.” He finally continued and she jerked her head up at that. “Clearly because it sucks when half your children hate you, and because I’ve been proved wrong. When you killed that drakon.”

Again, words she'd always wanted to hear. She nodded, a small smirk appearing on her face. A very small one, maybe a bit forced but the first one ever since she left that forest.

“Thank you, Dad. For everything.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

That day, everyone was doing their thing at Camp Half-Blood, just like any other day. Some were in arts and craft, oldest ones were sparring or teaching the younger ones. But everyone had heard the loud motorcycle.

Chiron was the first one to get out of the Big House to check the barrier. What he found there left him stunned: one of his demigods, whom he sadly thought was dead after almost a week without news, and one of the twelve gods of Olympus.

“Clarisse? Lord Ares, what-“

“No time for talking now horseman. Get all my kids here, their sister is going to need ‘em.”


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarisse comes back to camp and deals with the aftermath of her assault.

Usually, Clarisse loved coming back from a quest. Especially a major successful one. Getting praise from others and Chiron, while her brothers and sisters carried her on their shoulders like a heroin. Going _home_ , getting back to her normal life; as normal a demigod life could be.

But now she was finally back at the camp, and all she wanted was to disappear into a hole away from all those prying glances. Ares had only taken Chiron aside to make a quick report for a little while before her cabin’s mates showed up. And Clarisse was able to tell the minute she saw her brothers' looks that they had heard what their father said. That they knew. And she hated their stunned looks and how some of them were staring at the ground because they couldn't look her in the eye.

Clarisse’s vulnerability has never been greater than at this very moment. Or so she thought. Ares gave her one last look (which was somewhere between _‘you got this’_ and _‘f*ck ‘em all’_ ) before her sisters Arya and Sonny each grabbed one of her arm and led her out of the Big House, escorted by their brothers.

She didn’t want to look, as she heard the other campers whisper on their way. She kept walking straight to her cabin, a path she knew so well for having walked it for so many years with her head always high, but which had never seemed so long to her as at that moment.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

An hour later, Clarisse awoke from a nap ordered by Chiron. She couldn’t deny it was quite needed and that she’d miss her bunk. Rubbing her eyes, she spotted Mark sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Glad you’re back, sis.”

She snorted, sitting up against the wall. “Really? Thought you and Sher’ would implode of joy to replace me as cabin leader.”

“Cut your crap, you know it’s not true,” Mark barked lowly. “Besides, we all knew you’d come back. We even refused to burn your shroud when everyone was telling us you were dead.”

At that, Clarisse couldn’t help but smirk. That’s what she loves most about her cabin: they fight, they yell, they provoke but they’re highly faithful and united to each other. Thing about Mark though: of all her brothers, he’s the most protective of her.

“I… Gods if I could, I’d kill that son of a b-“

“Mark.”

“I’m serious!” he growled. “I can’t believe he tried to-“

He probably noticed the flinch she just tried to hide because he didn’t finish his sentence and his shoulders slumped. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

“Don’t.”

“What?”

“Don’t act all soft or some shit on me. I’m still your cabin leader and your worst nightmare in here.” Clarisse threatened, pointing a finger to him.

“Reese-“

“I don’t want to talk about _it_!”

She had screamed louder than she intended to, but luckily the rest of the cabin was training outside. _‘Lucky them’_ she sighed mentally.

“Mark, I… I’ll be fine, okay?” she told him more softly. “Go back with the others and make sure they don’t slack off with Sherman.”

Her brother stood up, sighing but knowing better than to question her.

“Alright. When, uh… I mean, if _,_ you’re ready to talk about it some time, you get me. Especially about Dad thrashing the guy, must have been dope.”

Clarisse huffed. “You bet it was.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Later on, it was Sherman who came to see her, swinging awkwardly on one foot. While Mark was more expressive, her other older brother had always had more trouble with words.

“Hey dumbass.” Clarisse said first, to break the tension.

“Still a bitch I see,” he replied, smiling slightly. “Glad that hadn’t changed. Anyway, uh, Miranda wanna see you, you don’t mind?”

“Sure, let her in.”

Sherman nodded, stepping out of the cabin to give way to his girlfriend, her typical good-natured smile on.

“Clarisse!”

The daughter of Demeter quickly went to her and squeezed her in her arms. Clarisse felt her own body tense at so much contact, but she didn’t reject the young girl.

“Hey.”

“I’m so happy you’re back. We were so worried after two weeks without any news.”

“Good to see you too. But you’re probably wrong you know, others were probably relieved I might never come back.”

Miranda frowned with a sad expression, sitting on the edge of the bed, this time at a reasonable distance from her. “Don’t say that… People care about you here and you do too, don’t say otherwise.”

Not knowing what to say back, the daughter of Ares just mumbled a small and fragile “I guess so”. It was true. This camp was a horribly dysfunctional family, but it was hers. And she had never missed that place more than when she went to that quest.

She paid her attention back to Miranda who had started talking again.

“Look… I can’t imagine what you’re going through, and you probably don’t want to talk about it but… If you ever need to-“

“Thanks. I’ll be fine, Mandy, don’t worry.”

Talking about her emotions had never been Clarisse’s thing. Usually she preferred to punch something and that’s why her siblings were the best for that. But right now… She knew no hitting; no maiming would help her with this situation. None of this would help forgetting _his_ hands on her body. And furthermore, even though her siblings were here, most of them were boys.

As surprising as it seems even for herself, she truly saw Miranda as a friend. Usually, she’d considerer girls like her a weakling but the counsellor of cabin 4 had something Clarisse admired: natural kindness. Something Silena used to have as well. Also, how this girl could put with her brother, she didn’t know.

But one thing the daughter of Ares was positive about, despite how good intentioned Miranda was, is that she wasn’t any ready to talk about it.

Miranda left shortly later, figuring she'd rather be alone right now, but reminded her one last time that she could come to her anytime. Clarisse appreciated but again, she wasn’t ready.

And hearing the horn that was announcing dinner, she knew she wasn’t ready to face the rest of camp either.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_‘Thought she was dead, to be honest’_

_‘Did you hear what happened to La Rue?’_

_‘I can’t believe someone would attack her like… that, you know? I mean look at her!’_

_‘I heard Ares himself had to intervene!’_

Whispers, curious looks, more whispers. If it wasn't for Arya's hand gently clutching her arm to restrain her, Clarisse would have gone after all those idiots staring at her.

Grasping her plate to the point of almost breaking it into pieces, she tried to take a deep breath.

 _‘Should have expected it, La Rue,’_ she thought. _‘Years of bragging, being the brave one and look at you now… Just the shadow of yourself.’_

“The heck you’re looking at, jackass?” she heard her sister Sonny snarl and she suddenly came back to reality.

The person Sonny just lashed out at, was Laurel Victor who was passing by them while they were in the file for the pavilion fire. Laurel just stared at her, from head to toe, shamelessly, then shrugged before returning to the Nike table.

For Clarisse, it was the last straw. She threw her entire plate into the fire, addressing a quick prayer to her father before running away from the pavilion.

“No, Reese wait!” she heard her brother Ellis calling.

She passed Chiron while running who looked like he wanted to stop her too, but eventually, she arrived on the beach. She took off her worn-out converses, letting her feet feel the sand while sitting down. The setting sun reflecting on the water was a breathtaking sight but right now, she couldn't appreciate any of it. Not when all the other campers were out there, and now looked at her like a freak show.

They were all looking at her. Her siblings were asking, Miranda was asking. But what were they expecting her to say? How miserable she’s feeling right now? Or how she couldn't get the images out of her head or the memory of his body over hers even if Ares had stepped in in time?

They wanted to know, they want her to talk… Not getting the hint she didn’t want to talk to them, them who are all looking at her with pity, like she was some sort of poor little fragile thing now. She didn’t want to talk. She wanted to be alone.

But not really either. Because being alone meant being alone with her thoughts. And her thoughts kept drifting to-

 _‘No. You’re not in that forest anymore, La Rue, stop it.’_ She ordered to herself, resting her head on top of her knees.

She didn’t want to face the reality but didn’t want to keep it deep inside her chest either. Maybe… _maybe_ , she wanted to talk.

As she looked up at the horizon, she realized that the sun was long down and that dinner had to be finished by now. She heard footsteps, walking towards her. Probably Mark or Chiron who came to comfort her and she was tempted not to turn around and ignore them.

But she did turn around. And gods, was she glad she did. Because right behind her, was coming Chris Rodriguez, breathless like he’s been running all day, and carrying a duffle bag as his only luggage. The moment her eyes crossed his brown wide ones, Clarisse felt a weight coming off her chest and as Chris had stopped briefly a few steps from her, like he was hesitating to move forward, she stood up and jumped into his arms.

Chris hugged her back immediately, dropping his bag. He inhaled her hair, her scent as if he hadn't been this close to her in ages, even though it had only been over a week.

“You’re alive.” He said, relief perceptible in his voice.

“You’re here.” Clarisse replied and the tears– she didn't even notice she was crying, blurred her vision.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They stayed another hour on the beach and she told him everything. Chris wasn’t like the others, he wasn’t any different with her, and he had the right to know.

“… then Dad drove me back to camp this morning, and here I am.”

Her boyfriend's eyes reflected a lot of feelings, Clarisse could tell. Disbelief, rage, revenge, but most of all, unspeakable sadness. But as soon as these emotions were showing up, Chris would shake his head and let her finish the whole story. When she did, he waited a whole minute before taking her hand and squeezing it in his own.

“What do you want to do? You wanna go back to Arizona?”

She shook her head. “I can’t for now, Chiron wants me to stay for recovery.”

“Okay. Seems more reasonable. You’re tired?”

She wanted to say no but she couldn’t deny the constant exhaustion weighing on her since her return. She nodded and Chris helped her getting up, not letting go of her hand and they left the beach.

The usual campfire songs and laughter could be heard and Chris carefully opted to bypass this path to make it directly to the cabins. They met some campers on the way who greeted them, including several of Clarisse's brothers who tried to convince them to come to make fun of the Apollo kids’ silly songs. Clarisse unconsciously hid further into Chris' embrace and told them that she was too tired. _‘At least, they don’t look at me all awkward anymore like this morning’_ she noted to herself.

Finally, they reached cabin 5 and Chris was about to kiss her goodnight when she pulled him inside without a word. Everyone else had went to the campfire, though she knew for sure no one would have said something about Chris’ presence. They had been dating for three years, they were past that. However, as she was getting into her pj shorts and an old camp shirt, she noticed how her boyfriend unusually stood back.

When Clarisse sat on her bunk and finally faced him, he looked like he was caught doing a bad thing.

“I, uh,” he started, clearly in the same uneasy state than her brothers earlier. “maybe I should sleep in the Hermes cabin toni-“

“Here we _fricking_ go.” His girlfriend groaned, her head falling backwards.

“Look, maybe it’s better like that. “

“How?” she snapped impatiently.

“I just… don’t want to pressure you into something you don’t w-“

“The heck is that about? We’re not fifteen years-old virgins anymore Chris, just come in this fricking bed.”

No move. Clarisse sighed. Stupid good guy with his principles she was dating.

“Please. I just… I really need you to hold me.” She declared, and she hated how weak her voice sounded.

But it seemed to be enough to convince Chris. He slowly went through his duffel bag to take his Star Wars shirt, the comfy one he usually sleeps in, and took off his shorts, his underpants left on. Clarisse instantly tucked her head in his neck when he laid next to her and he wrapped one of his arms around her waist.

“I’ve noticed on the way, you know.” He whispered after another minute of silence. “How you flinch when someone’s getting close to you now, even your siblings.”

Clarisse didn’t reply at first. Of course he’d notice.

“Well if you’re so attentive, you’d notice I don’t when it’s you.”

“Yeah… Why?”

She didn’t think twice before responding: “Because it’s you. I’ve always trusted you.”

“You’ve had reasons in the past to lose trust in me.”

“What do you mean? When?” she asked, frowning.

“When I left camp.”

Oh. Well, she should have expected that move. She, of all people, knew that he would never truly forgive himself for that deed.

“Yeah…” she finally sighed. “Somehow I knew you’d come back.”

His arms tightened around her waist and both were about to slumber.

“I’ll always come back to you, Clarisse. Better: I’ll never leave your side again.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_She was back in the forest again, Ajax on top of her, his hands roaming her body. He stroked her absolutely everywhere that he could, from her hips to her stomach and her breasts, and she could sense nausea mounting as well as tears when she felt a lump against her thigh._

_Clarisse shouted again, screamed for her father’s help but this time, she knew no one was coming to save her again._

“Clary. Clary wake up, you gotta wake up, you’re here.”

Clary. Only Chris called her that. Her eyes opened in a frightened state and she sat up, gasping for air. She felt her boyfriend’s hand squeezing hers as her only proof that she was really here, back at camp and not _there_ anymore. The son of Hermes was only holding her hand, like he was waiting for her to instigate any other contact, to not startle her, and it’s when she threw herself in his arms that he knew it was okay.

“I’m with you okay? I’m here. It was just a nightmare, _corazón_ , just a nightmare.”

It took Clarisse a good five minutes but her breathing finally returned to normal and she removed her head, comfortably lodged from his neck. In the half-light, she noticed that Mark and Sonny were well awake, probably alarmed by her calls, and ready to rush to her bed. She mouthed a “I’m fine, go back to sleep” and laid back, pulling Chris at her sides. It wasn't for nothing that she insisted he stay over.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

On the following day, Clarisse felt that she was going to go crazy if she had to stay confined in her cabin one more day. To hell with Chiron's orders and other people' looks, she needed to let off steam, to think about something else, and only a spear in her hands could give her that.

“Wait for me in the arena.” She had said to Sherman.

“You sure it’s a good idea?” He dared to ask. “It’s pretty early considering-“

“Shut it, I’ll spar with you guys and that’s it.”

Her voice was leaving no room for discussion and Sherman knew it. He knew her, she wasn’t their leader for nothing. And if there was one thing Ares kids had in common, it was stubbornness. He sighed but nodded at her request before leaving the cabin. Five minutes later, she was dressed in training clothes and ready to go to the arena, and as she opened the door, she found Chris who was about to knock, fist still up in the air.

“Bad timing.” She pointed out to him and she tried to walk past him.

But he kept her inside. “Where are you going?”

“Arena. Spar session.”

“Clarisse.”

“I’m in a rush, just move Chris!”

He didn’t budge and instead close the door behind him. “You still need rest.”

“I’m a big girl, I can decide whether I’m tired or not! I’ve slept all day yesterday.”

“Your concussion was pretty bad, Reese, Will himself said it was better for you to-“

“I don’t care about what Will said, or Chiron or my siblings!” she shouted, her fist clenching around her spear. “And I certainly won’t get better lazing here all day!”

“Clary…” he murmured in a tone that she knew very well, the one he was using every time he wanted to reason with her and that always ended up winning over her.

“For gods’ sake Chris, I’m fine! Why can’t people leave me alone?”

“You almost got _raped_ Clarisse!”

Silence took over the room as Clarisse swallowed back whatever words she was about to say back. It was actually the first time that she was hearing the _word_. She knew that’s what almost happened to her. But it seemed like the words were only sinking in her head just now.

Chris was still staring right in her eyes, looking both guilty for the harshness of his words but determined at the same time.

“You’ve always told me…” he started. “After the Labyrinth, that from now and forever, you’ll always be here to help me get my shit together. That if I’d lose my mind again, you’d be here for me. I’m doing the same with you, Clarisse. You’re going through a lot of stuff and I know you’re trying to get over it in your own ways but it’s not that easy. You can’t just punch your feelings away, not this time. Not after what happened to you.”

She let out a shaky humorless laugh. “What do you want me to do? Cry like a weak?”

“You’re Clarisse la Rue. You’re not weak, never.”

She went to sit on his bed, and soon he joined her, “I… Chris, I can’t.”

He took her hand in hers. “You need to talk about this, Clarisse.”

“I’ve told you already. The whole thing.”

“You told me what happened, the facts. And I know it must have been painful to share already. But, Clarisse, you don’t say anything about how you feel, how you’re dealing with this right now,” he protested. “You don’t even have to talk to me in particular if you don’t want to, but if you want to feel better-“

“I feel empty.” She deadpanned, “I feel weak, I feel like I’ll never be able to get back to my old self again, because I…”

“Take your time.”

“I-I let that- _him_ , touch me, I wasn’t even defending myself at the end because I knew I was helpless. I let him, Chris, and I feel disgusting, like my body doesn’t even belong to me anymore.”

Chris took her face in his hands, wiping away the tears she hadn't even noticed running down her cheeks. “Look at me. That _… hijo de su maldita madre_ ,” he growled. “What he did to you, it’s not your fault, and just because you weren’t defending yourself doesn’t mean anything. He was just too strong, so strong that even your father had to intervene. You’re still you, you’re still Clarisse _fricking_ La Rue, Drakon Slayer and the strongest person I know.”

She was tucked in his arms now and suddenly, the urge to go smash anything thoughtlessly at the arena wasn’t so tempting anymore. The tears were very there, her vulnerability was present at Chris’ full sight, but at least that sense of disgust and uneasiness she had felt in her body since her return seemed to fade away little by little.

As hard as it was for her to admit, maybe talking wasn't such a bad idea.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When she started to get better, Clarisse didn’t exactly know but she it weirdly coincides when she starts training again or when she chased the Stoll with her spear after a prank and they laugh about being happy she’s back (‘Stupid bros-in-law’ she’d mutter afterwards.

Nightmares were still present, and she knew they were going to persist for a while, but it was nothing new for a demigod. Chris would be there when she wakes up or one of her cabinmates. Another summer was coming to an end and going back to college was a solace she was definitely looking forward.

“So, so, we’re down our leader and we’re learning it just now?” A voice announced, while Clarisse was sat on the sand, contemplating the beach like she was with Chris two months ago.

“Way to kill my fricking only calm moment of the day, Arya.”

Both her sisters sat next on each side of her and Sonny grunted in frustration. “Sherman better not suck as cabin leader.”

“If he’s being a macho dick, you tell me and I’ll come all the way from Arizona to cut off his.”

“Don’t bother, I’ll do it myself,” Arya said and the three of them laughed.

If they were already close in the past, Clarisse definitely knows she can rely on her sisters more since this summer. Besides Chris and Miranda, they were the only ones she could really confide in.

“What about you? You gonna be okay?” Arya asked abruptly, as if she was reading her mind.

“Yeah.”

“I mean really.”

“I’ll be fine, stop being a mother den Arry, it’s my dam role.” Clarisse reassured, elbowing her; Ares kids’ way to reassure each other. “I’m not… You know, totally over it but I’m getting better so-“

“What was Dad like?” Sonny suddenly spluttered, catching her eldest sister off guard.

Arya glared at her, “Wow, could be any more subtle Sonny?”

“Oh come on! I’m just… wondering. You guys have met him in the past. You know how he is. It’s crazy when you think about it, what he did for you. It’s so… unlike him.”

Clarisse saw Arya’s eyes darken and both could still very remember their father’s visits when he wasn’t satisfied with their fighting abilities, or just wanted to remind them that their brothers were so much better than them. Sonny had arrived in camp only two years ago and never witnessed this side of their father pre-Titan’s War.

But then, Clarisse’s mind wandered to that fateful night when he saved her. And the day after, at the Intrepid.

A little smirk appeared on her face as she replied: “We’re his only daughters of this century, Sonny. You ever have a problem like this, he’s going to be there. He’s not perfect but, at least he’s there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end. I hope you liked it, I really enjoyed writing this. Kudos and comments are good for the soul. Bye, lovelies!

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2 is on its way. Hope you enjoyed, bye lovelies!


End file.
